Vanilla orchid leaves turn translucent and black

[Apollon]

Hey guys.
I got a vanilla orchid about 8 months ago with two nodes and it was doing fine since then, but in the last day (it was that quick) the new leaf has turned translucent and starting to have black spots…
I tried looking online for similar cases but could not find any info, did anyone ever got that with their vanilla?
Could it be rot/fungal infection or perhaps incorrect handling? (Ie too much water, not enough fertilizer, etc)

Should it be left like that or cut? And if it would have to be cut, does the orchid still stand a chance to survive?

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

What are your temperatures day/night? Relative humidity? What kind of light is it getting? How are you watering? How are you fertilizing? What is the potting medium?

[Apollon]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Welcome to the Orchid Board.

What are your temperatures day/night? Relative humidity? What kind of light is it getting? How are you watering? How are you fertilizing? What is the potting medium?

Thank you!
Im shocked of how fast youve commented!

Day and night temps are between 20-25 degrees indoor. (68-77 degrres F), it sits in my toilet since its the area with the highest humidity (cant point the exact number but i would say around 50-70% since its a small area and after shower it gets super humid.)

As for watering and potting mix, it sits in regular soil (for flower pots and such) and im watering it once a few days when it feels dry (its never saturated with water!)

I have yet to fertilize it..

It grew well for the past few months, im not sure what has happened..

[estación seca]

Your temperatures are lower than it prefers for good growth but it should tolerate them.

Your plant is a pale green with thin leaves. It should have thick, dark green leaves. If you haven't fertilized it I think the problem is nutrient deficiency.

Most commercial potting soil contains no nutrients. It's mostly sawdust ("forest products") and perlite. Plants in this without fertilizer often die of malnourishment. Mixes prefortified with fertilizer are sold, but it doesn't last long.

Blackening of new growth is commonly caused by nutrient or calcium deficiency. I also see each new leaf has been smaller than the previous one. This also makes me think it's a nutritional deficiency.

I would suggest you begin feeding the plant weekly with just about any balanced fertilizer with micronutrients. Balanced means the three numbers on the label are fairly close. Use the recommended dilution for house plants. Powdered formulations are much less expensive than liquid formulations.

And if your fertilizer doesn't have calcium nor magnesium, get a calcium - magnesium supplement. Epsom salts 1 teaspoon per gallon once a week will provide magnesium but not calcium.

[Apollon]

Thank you!
Should i be removing the top of the plant? Or leaving it as it is?

[estación seca]

I would just leave it. It will become dry, at which time it will come off easily.

In general, don't cut leaves nor stems off unless there is an infection that is spreading. At your humidity the risk of fungus or bacterial infection in an orchid leaf or stem is very small.

[Apollon]

Thank you so much! 😊
I hope the plant will heal.
Have a great weekend!

[Apollon]

So hey again…
Im losing all hope, the entire plant slowly changes colours to the colour of the leave above,
Seems like the leaves lose their chlorophyll to the point where you can see the “veins” and left with a transparent, thin and flimsy leave that start blackening after a while…

I tried looking online and havent found any occurrences to the extent that my orchid is going through.
Ive repotted it (since i assumed that the new soil would have the nutrients that are needed) and i saw that the main root is long and healthy (and hairy)…
Do you guys know what else can cause this?.. what should i do?

[estación seca]

The only things I would try would be to cut off the top well below the problem, continue fertilizing, and consider keeping the plant warmer. They just aren't happy at lower household temperatures like yours, though some people are able to keep them alive like that.

[lobotomizedgoat]

I'm rather inexperienced myself, but I'm growing a Vanilla planifolia in my house in similar conditions (68-76 F, 50-70% RH, rocky soil in terracotta) and it has been quite happy so far, growing like a weed. I give it distilled water to avoid salt buildup from our tap water and recently started applying a 10-0-0 fert with calcium and magnesium.

One potentially relevant difference is that the room it is in has a steady but gentle draft from a ceiling fan. If the room yours is in now gets very humid but the air remains stagnant perhaps that could be part of the issue?

In any case, I hope you are able to salvage the plant. Good luck!

...

On a possibly irrelevant side note, I can also mention that since buying a hygrometer I have discovered that my own ability to guess the relative humidity is not particularly good. I can reliably discriminate between "really dry", "not so bad", and "pretty moist" but that's about it, and it's surprising how dry 60% feels when I'm thirsty.